Now Presenting Mr and Mrs ur,,, Hartley
by LisaDouglas
Summary: A sweet little romantic story about Bob and Emily and how they got married.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: At the risk of this being awkward…

Tonight was the night…but only he knew it. Bob Hartley had never been this nervous in his life and his heart raced with a mixture of fear and expectation. He wanted to do this, but at the same time he thought it was going to make him sick. He could only describe the feeling as being kind of like a combination of your first day of college and going to the dentist to have a cavity filled. Bob noted, as the elevator carried its self to the bottom floor of his office building, that his palms were drenched in sweat. How embarrassing! He wiped them on the sides of his pants, hoping no one would notice.

He didn't know if he really wanted to do this…he had second, third and fourth thoughts with each hurried step he took towards his train. If he decided not to, his nerves would ease up and he could go to dinner in peace…but on the same note he was practically desperate to do it, and part of him just thought he'd die inside or something if he didn't or at the very least regret it for as long as he lived…why else would he have ever bought the ring? It took him a week alone to get up the courage to buy the ring…and it was perfect.

"Emily I know we've only been together for a year..." He mumbled quietly to himself as he boarded the train. "No, no that's no good."

He shut up when a woman next to him in the crowd shot him an angry look. Apparently she'd heard him…he hoped her name wasn't Emily too, because that would be awkward.

Bob shut his mouth and quietly contemplated exactly what he was going to say. He was so nervous he hadn't told anyone he was going to ask her, not even Jerry, just for fear that he'd be turned down…he didn't know what he'd do if she turned him down. Bob could feel his heart leaping almost back up into his throat as he walked the two blocks from his train to Emily's school to pick her up.

Even at five o'clock, the playground was jam packed with kids. He wasn't much for kids, or schools, but he was crazy enough about Emily Harrison to endure the fact that she taught the third grade. The simple fact was that Bob's feelings for Emily lacked all semblance of rationality. First off, she wasn't his type. He'd usually dated blondes before Emily, but there was something about her dark hair he found very alluring. She was also one of the few perhaps the only long term girlfriend he'd had who he had not been intimate with…Emily was not that kind of girl.

Bob decided marriage was his solution when he realized that he couldn't even think about her eyes without butterflies attacking his stomach, and that some times, he spaced out when Mr. Carlin was blabbing about his dull problems and found himself writing Emily Harrison all over his notes…and then there was the idea of not being with her in twenty years, of letting anyone else be the mother of his children (if they ever came along), of ever having a romantic relationship with anyone but her, of not growing old with her…he couldn't stomach any of those thoughts. And so that's how the ever reluctant Bob Hartley, a man who hated and resisted most forms of change, decided to ask Emily Harrison to be his wife.

"Hi Bob!" She exclaimed cheerfully when she saw him come in her classroom. She dropped her papers on her desk, not really caring where exactly they fell and made her way into her boyfriend's embrace.

Bob and Emily enjoyed a long, sweet kiss that he figured might not be what you would call appropriate for an elementary school setting but he relished it anyhow.

"How was your day sweetheart?" Emily questioned.

"Oh, good, good how…how about yours?"

"Okay." She giggled, taking note that he stuttered a little more than usual that evening. She wondered what was going through his head. Emily smiled, as she went back to her desk and began to put her papers back in her bag. "I'll be ready in just a second. Where are we going anyway?" She asked. He watched her shoulder length brown hair curled in a flip, bounce gently on her shoulders. He even thought her hair was beautiful and just wanted to reach out and touch it.

"Oh uh, that little Italian place you like, near the lake."

"That sounds wonderful." She smiled, turning him and allowing him to take her arm in his own. He hoped she wouldn't notice his palms and the fact that he was clearly a little more nervous than he probably needed to be.

If Bob…the psychologist…had gotten a little more out of his own head, he would've noticed that Emily was equally enamored with him and had written Bob Hartley with a heart around it on her own desk scratch paper.

Emily sighed. She loved this restaurant. The warm candlelight illuminated her face and the mood and the music were just right. Above all, she was crazy about the company. Bob hadn't said that much that night, just smiled back at her, gleefully and somewhat nervously. She could tell he had something to say and she sure hoped it wasn't good-bye.

"Dearest Emily we've been together for almost a year now…" He began. Oh no, here it went…and after that kiss, and the restaurant…it was such a romantic atmosphere too romantic to be dumped in! "And I'm very fond of you," he was! "and I want us to spend the rest of our lives together, will you be my wife?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed.

"Y-you will!"

"Of course!" She said, leaning across the table to give him an even bigger kiss than the one they'd shared earlier.

"I'm so glad you said yes. Here." He said, slipping the ring he'd chosen onto her finger.

"Bob it's beautiful!" She gushed. While she knew he wasn't cheap, he also knew he wasn't all that flashy and she could tell he'd spent money on it. "Oh honey, I love it." Her smile warmed his heart.

"It's not as pretty as you." He complimented. She blushed. What a corny line…but how sweet was he!

"So, uh…when are we going to do this?" She asked.

"Do what?" He questioned, not sure what she was referring to exactly.

It was a wedding, there were going to be more things to do than he'd cared to know about…and plus the soup was getting cold and now that the butterflies in his stomach had dissipated he would admit to you that he was actually kind of hungry.

"The wedding Bob." She asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Oh yeah, the wedding. June is nice Emily. You'll be out of school, I…"

"Actually. Can we do it next week?" She inquired as she watched him sip his wine.

"Next week?" He asked. He almost choked.

"Yeah I…I just can't wait to be Mrs. Emily Hartley." She giggled a little seductively as she leaned in closer to him. He laughed a little nervously too. Little did he know, she'd also been writing Mrs. Emily Hartley on her notes and keeping them in her desk.

"That sounds fair enough." He teased. "But what about school?"

"I can take some time off, and plus it's the week of Spring break. So lets get married Monday after next, April 15th."

"Okay." He said, barely believing they were setting a date, and neglecting to recall that the 15th was tax day and a horrible day to get married. "April 15th it is." He agreed, leaning across the table to kiss her again.

It was then that Bob noticed a new type of nervousness begin to overwhelm his senses and he wondered if it would plague him every step of the way throughout his life with this woman. She smiled at him brightly and looked up at him with hopeful dreamy eyes that were adoring, seemed to dream only of their future and melted his heart as soon as their gaze met his own…that thing, which he called love for her, was enough to calm him and keep him committed to the promise he'd just made…at least the awkwardness of asking had ended in the best of all possible outcomes and for the moment, that fact put him at complete ease.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- What are you doing tonight?

Bob didn't know what he thought about having this woman latched onto his arm…for the rest of his life. A few days before it had been something he couldn't live without: the only thing he wanted and he didn't think she'd say yes. Now he just wanted to run away. He'd never thought of himself as one of those non-committal guys before, but he was coming to think that maybe he was…and he didn't like it. In fact, the idea was driving him crazy.

"Hi Bob." Emily smiled, delighted to see him when she came down from her apartment and kissed his cheek. He smiled suddenly, his mind always changing once he saw her smile. And once he received her kiss it was all over. She then transformed from the person he wanted to flee from to the one he couldn't stand to live without.

"H-hi Emily." He said, taking her hand.

She smiled, noting that his palms were sweaty and wondered what it was he was so nervous about, whatever it was, it was adorable and it let her know he really was crazy about her.

"Oh we have such a busy day ahead of us." She said enthusiastically. He just stared, noting that her eyes sparkled when she said this. "What do you want to do first?" She asked, turning her attention to making her or rather their way down the street. She pulled him along casually and it jolted him out of his staring.

"I'm sorry…what?" He asked, realizing she'd said something but he was unsure of what.

"Bob. I asked you what you wanted to do first?"

"Oh….well what exactly are we doing?" He wasn't sure of that either, just that it probably had to do with getting married.

"Well there's a lot too choose from." In a minute he would realize this was in fact, an understatement. She stopped and turned toward him once again. "There's ring shopping." She smiled, this was one of the things she was most eager to get to. "Cake choosing, invitation picking, registering for gifts and finally looking for an apartment." She watched Bob's eyes grow wide as she listed all of their wedding related errands. She couldn't tell if he was horrified or just overwhelmed.

"A-all of that?"

"All of that." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss right there on the street.

Bob couldn't help but begin to reciprocate and wrapped his arms around her, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering away the moment his lips made contact with hers. In his experience, no one kissed quite like Emily. He felt so loved when she kissed him, like he met really something, he thought. No kiss had ever made him feel that way.

He didn't understand why it was that he was so nervous when he was away from her and when she was there she was all that mattered and he wouldn't dream of trying to get away from her, in fact when with her, the idea in his mind was to stay with her as long as he could. The thing that baffled him more is that Emily was one of the few women he'd dated that he hadn't been sleeping with…if that was the case then why was he so…in love? Bob was reconciled to the fact that he was in love.

Perhaps he really was doing the right thing in marrying her. Could a different kind of chemistry than he'd experienced before in fact be true love? The couple was engrossed in their kiss and their thoughts and didn't notice that a few onlookers, mostly older women gawked disapprovingly, while others, mostly men and women their own age smiled to themselves.

"I-I'll go." Bob said nervously. Emily giggled flirtatiously and grabbed his hand, beginning to pull him down the street.

"Go where Dr. Hartley?" She asked. "You didn't make a choice remember? I might just have to make one for you." She giggled.

"Alright." Bob said, he began to lead her now and the couple walked toward the train which was just a block and a half away. "How about we get you a ring."

…

"Bob what are you doing tonight?" Emily asked. Many hours had passed and they were on their very last errand of the day: choosing the cake. He froze, he'd just been trying to get through the day and hadn't given a second thought to what would happen that night.

It had been a long day. First they'd gone to get the ring. She'd had no particular demands but he'd taken her to Tiffany's anyway. Emily was surprised. He was not what you would call an extravagant man. Cheap would be a far superior adjective, at least with some things. But Bob wanted to go all out with this.

"Are you sure Bob?" She asked quietly about the ring she'd chosen with of course some input from him. It was a lovely gold ring with a respectably sized princess cut diamond. They'd chosen accompanying wedding bands for each of them that were also gold. Emily adored her engagement ring and he thought it was perfect. But she wasn't sure about the price tag.

"Emily this is one of those things you don't go cheap on."

"I know…but you don't have to, to promise me that you love me."

"I know, but I-I want to." He said, looking over the ring as he held it.

"Okay." She smiled.

"So Emily."

"Yes." She knew what was coming.

"Will you marry me?" He asked again, feeling a little less nervous this time than the first time he asked it, and this time he had a ring to slip onto her finger.

"Oh Bob, of course I will!" She accepted, he slipped the ring onto her finger and began to kiss her.

Bob felt a little better about everything after they got the ring. It made him feel committed to her already and he was surprised to find that the idea settled his stomach. With many men, like Jerry for example, the notion would've done just the opposite. After the ring they went to register for gifts and order invitations. Then came the most haphazard part of the day: apartment hunting.

Bob sort of understood why they just couldn't live at his place. It was _his_ place not _their _place it was too small for a couple like themselves to begin to make a life and a home together, it was filled with things that belonged to him and not them…it reflected _his _taste and needs not _theirs_. And as for her place, well her roommate Judy Bonderaunt, was almost always there, except for this week, she'd gone home to visit relatives in Seattle. So, after this week living there was out of the question. After hours of looking for a suitable one-bedroom place with maybe a den and a nice living room they'd come up completely empty-handed. Frustrated and hungry, the couple had been glad to turn from home hunting, to cake hunting.

"Bob?" Emily asked again. She asked, putting down her fork. Bob suddenly remembered he was in the bakery and that Emily had just began asking him something.

"I'm listening." He insisted. He was recalling the day and eating more than he was listening.

"Well Bob, the reason I ask about tonight is that well…" Emily was nervous to ask, she'd never done this before and wasn't sure how she'd feel if her fiancé said no…but why would he? "The reason I ask is that I want to you to spend the night tonight." Bob was listening but had been thinking about the day they'd had and not anticipating what she was going to say, so he almost choked on the cake he'd been sampling when she announced this.

"S-spend the night?" He asked.

"Yeah." She smiled enthusiastically. "We can have a nice dinner together and then we can uh…change into something a little more comfortable." She suggested. "And maybe after…" she emphasized this word in a very specific way, "we can watch the sun come up together for the first time."

Bob swallowed nervously, and began to smile. He liked the idea of not having to leave her overnight, of there being just a good night and not a good bye, of seeing her smiling sweetly in her sleep first thing in the morning and starting the day with her at his side.

"What time do you want me there?" He asked.

…..

Bob rushed home after he and Emily finally chose a cake. Leaving Emily had been difficult the two had found it hard to separate on the street so that he could walk one way to his apartment and she could walk in the opposite direction to hers. They clutched each other's hands, forcing themselves to slowly let go and begin their journeys in opposite directions. Both knew that clinging onto each other like this wasn't rational when they'd be together again in an hour or less but somehow they couldn't help it. Their day together had eased his nerves and reassured her of his love, bringing them even closer together.

He was going to get some things at home for his first overnight stay with her: pajamas, a razor, a toothbrush, things like that. And she was going home to change and begin making dinner for them.

"I'll just be forty-five minutes. I promise Emily." He said.

"Okay." She smiled, releasing her grip of his hand. His hand dropped to his side and he felt a little alone when she pulled away. "I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you too." He promised. She blew a kiss and began to make her way back down the street. He watched for a second as she walked off, not wanting to miss a moment of looking at her, and then he ran home.

As Bob rushed around his apartment, shoving things into a duffle bag, he realized that he'd been missing something. Turning the desk, he looked at his day planner.

"Oh no." Bob said, his heart plummeting to his stomach when he read it written bigger than life: _**7pm Dinner with Gloria Webster. **_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Say you love me for the rest of my life

"Oh no." Bob's heart began to pound when he saw this.

He dropped the duffle bag on the floor and started to panic but caught himself. He'd been so swept up by falling in love with Emily that he'd totally forgotten all about Gloria.

"Okay, calm down, calm down…well you're talking to yourself that can't be good." He reasoned.

Gloria Webster was a girl who well he didn't know how to phrase it; it was complicated. Was it that she used to be his girlfriend, or that she still sort of was? Gloria was a friend of his sister Ellen and the two were in the antique business together in Cleveland. She and Bob had had a somewhat serious but long distance relationship. Gloria was blonde, tall and attractive and didn't come to town very often. He'd met Emily only six months after they had began dating. Bob wasn't sure what had happened but he'd phased Gloria out for Emily over the past year. And apparently, Gloria was in town: tonight.

Bob wasn't quite sure what to do. Neither of the two women knew about each other and now he had a date with one of them and was engaged to the other. He sat down and rested his head in his hand.

"What do I do?" He asked himself as he sighed. Most of him wanted to jaunt over to Emily's, she was the one he longed to spend the evening with and still wanted to marry.

On the other hand he knew not seeing Gloria might have dire consequences later on. He was getting married in a week! He had to break it off, if he didn't he'd risk Gloria calling him up one day and having Emily find out about it and think he'd been cheating on her…had he? Well sort of. He'd stopped seeing Gloria long before they were engaged, really before they were exclusive. The only reason he hadn't cut it off was because he'd been too wrapped up in Emily to remember that Gloria existed…Bob sighed, hoping that if things went wrong that would work as an argument. He didn't think Emily would buy it. She was smart and it was a weak argument. What woman would really believe a line like: 'I loved you so much I forgot she existed!'…probably not Emily. Regardless, it was true.

Now came the hard part: deciding. Did he want to go and clear things up with Gloria so that Emily wouldn't ever find out about it and risk being a little late? Or, did he want to rush to Emily's apartment and start the evening off a little early, perhaps ask if they could just skip dinner and get to bed early, which is what he really wanted…Bob stuffed the last of the things he'd intended to pick up into his bag and left his apartment, deciding to swing by the restaurant where he was supposed to meet Gloria before hurrying back to Emily.

….

Emily sighed, forty-five minutes he'd said…now it had been at least ninety minutes and her stomach ached. She got up and paced the living room, telling herself over and over again that maybe he wasn't ditching her, instead maybe something had happened….no that was worse. She loved him so much that his being dead would be far more painful than if he just didn't want her anymore.

Emily reasoned as she bit her fingernail. She sat back on the couch looking down hopelessly at the dinner she'd just put out…it wasn't as if she actually believed either of them were really all that interested in food. Food wasn't what she'd invited him over for; there would be plenty of time for that in their marriage. Instead, she'd invited him over so that they could spend the night together, in an intimate, romantic way, a way they had not yet spent time together….he'd seemed so eager before now, she wondered if somehow her invitation or the closeness of the impending wedding date had turned him off to spending the night with her…or, if it was something about her. Either way, Emily kept putting the dinner back in the oven. She turned on the TV and sat on the sofa, trying to force herself not to cry.

…

"We're a black tie, five star restaurant, monsieur." The maitre 'd announced, eyeing Bob with contempt. Bob looked down, surveying his own attire. He'd rushed in, wearing jogging clothing, tennis shoes, and had a duffle bag slung sloppily over his shoulder.

"Look. I'm not here to eat. I'm not staying. I'm, I'm just here to dump my girlfriend. Is she here?"

"Name?" The maitre 'd asked, only because he thought it would get this ruffian out of the establishment sooner.

"Hartley."

"No, the lady's name monsieur."

"Oh…G-Gloria, Webster."

"Ah yes, we do have a reservation for Webster. Two at seven. Would you care to wait for her in our outdoor area?"

Bob got the hint; he'd left the suit at home and wasn't wanted. But he had to do this, and do it quickly. He was already over an hour late for Emily.

"L-look. I really have to make this quick. My fiancé is waiting for me and…"

At this, the French maitre 'd began to laugh.

"You Americans! You do not know how to properly keep women on the side…"

"I'm not keeping women on the side! Why do you think I'm dumping her?!" Bob was getting angry. "Please, will you just, just let me sit at our table, and wait for her, and let her down easy?"

The Frenchman wanted to continue chiding Bob, but instead decided to laugh to himself. Let her down easy…this woman probably had other lovers he didn't know about, his bowing out of their relationship sweetly in order to commit himself to another woman would be no loss for her. Besides, the fact that he was committing himself to one woman was funny to him as well.

Bob felt awkward when he sat down at their usual table. He put his bag down next to him and looked up only to be met with disapproving glances from the occupants of many of the other tables. He was grossly underdressed and it was embarrassing. Bob laughed nervously, quietly clapping his hands together. He glanced carefully at his watch, noting the time. This had already taken more time than he'd planned for and he couldn't justify staying that much longer.

Bob's stomach grumbled as he turned his attention to the breadbasket. He was starving and wondered what the protocol was for eating the bread when you weren't really staying for dinner. He sat there quietly for a moment and then glanced at his watch again. He wasn't really sure how five minutes had passed but he knew that he really would have to leave soon. His stomach grumbled again, loudly this time. Although he'd had quite a bit of cake earlier in the day, he was starving. Bob reached over and decided to take a bread-stick. It would pass the time and nourish him. He didn't want to be hungry when he got to Emily's place, it would just get in the way. He also didn't want to talk to Gloria with an empty stomach and have the grumbling noise take center stage.

Without thinking, Bob snapped the breadstick in half and it made a huge cracking sound. He bit into one end of it eagerly and began to chew before he realized that half the restaurant was again, starting at him. Bob stared back awkwardly at the two couples at the tables nearest to him. He paused for a second and then began to chew again, each bite made a horrifically loud crunching sound, and although he just had a mouthful of the stuff, eating it seemed to be taking forever. He swallowed all at once and then put the remainder of the breadstick down, pushing it over to the side of the table. Bob looked at his watch again. He was growing impatient. It was seven fifteen and she had still not arrived. That was plenty of time. Bob sighed and discretely swept the breadcrumbs off his lap. Well he'd made an attempt at this…it was time to go to Emily's…a thought that made him more nervous-excited than he thought he'd ever been or ever would be again.

"Bob!" Bob looked up surprised and almost a little disappointed when he heard Gloria's voice.

"G-Gloria." He said.

"I'm so sorry I'm late I…"

Bob's heart began to pound when she sat down across from him and began to talk a mile a minute about where she'd been. He felt trapped and when he looked across the table, her blonde locks and dark eyes faded, and were replaced with Emily's dark brown hair and her deep blue eyes.

"Bob?" Gloria questioned.

"Oh uh…what?"

"What are you going to have, that's what I asked and uh…why are you dressed like that?"

"G-Gloria I have something to tell you…"

"Oh what does it matter, let's dance Bob…"

"Oh I don't know, I don't think…"

"Oh please, you're a good dance partner and its so much fun!"

"I'm a horrible dance partner." He reminded as he allowed her to pull him out onto the dance floor.

"So what is it that you wanted to tell me so badly…Bob?" She was confused when he looked at his watch.

"Look, I'm late as it is…"

"Late?" She questioned.

Bob stopped when he heard a familiar laugh. It was a man's laugh, one that was jovial, and carried a lot of gusto with it. It was one that intimidated the hell out of him and that he'd never forget.

"Oh my God it's Junior!" Bob panicked.

What in the hell were Junior and Aggie doing in town?! Emily hadn't told him they were there. Whatever the case, he could not have his future father-in-law see him with another woman; it was too much to risk, especially when he hated him already.

"Junior, who…"

"Hide me!" He spat, grabbing her arms and ensuring that she stood in such a way that precluded Junior's view of him. He rushed them back to their table and sat her down.

"Bob what's wrong with you?! First those clothes and then…and the duffle bag!" She remarked as he picked up the bag.

"Gloria. It's been great…a-and I like you but, I'm in love with and marrying someone else."

Bob noticed, over Gloria's shoulder, that several of the other couples were watching him dump his girlfriend. They sat, sipping their wine and enjoying the entertainment. He was shocked when Gloria reached over and slapped him squarely across the face. It was the last thing that he wanted because it seemed to make the world stop and called the entire restaurant, including his future father and mother-in-law, to attention.

"Ow." Was all he said, beginning to rub his cheek.

"You're cheating on me!"

"N-not really you see: I came here to break it off with you. I haven't seen or heard from you in months—I don't even remember the last time we talked but…I've been seeing this wonderful girl f-for about a year now and she's really swept me off my feet. Last week I asked her to marry me, and this morning we picked out the ring, and the cake…" these memories brought a slight smile to Bob's bruised face. "And until this evening, when I saw our date in my calendar, I totally forgot you existed." Bob laughed when he said this part. He was happy he could say this in front of all these people and declare his love for Emily; he hoped it would be something Aggie and Junior could understand, as he knew they were watching him, perhaps with contempt.

"Urrrrg!" Gloria was angry and hit him again, this time in the shoulder: hard, and knocked him down in his chair. "Good-bye Robert Hartley!" She huffed, then stormed out.

"Ah…I knew he would make a scene." The maitre 'd rolled his eyes as he whispered to his colleague.

Bob was embarrassed but was about to get up when he felt a sturdy hand on his shoulder, and another begin to lift up the back of his chair.

"You okay son?" Junior asked. Bob's heart was pounding; he was a little surprised that Junior's voice seemed so calm, almost as if he weren't angry.

"Y-yeah Mr. Harrison." Suddenly Bob found himself sitting upright again with Emily's parents sitting around him. He was surprised that Aggie asked the waiter for a cold cloth, and that Junior tried to check his eyes for a concussion. "N-no Mr. Harrison, it-it's alright, I'm fine. And I can explain…"

"You've explained well enough." Junior said kind of sharply.

"Oh Bob, did you really mean everything you said?" Aggie asked.

"If it was about how much I love your daughter, and how committed I am to her, and how I was just trying dump Gloria, whose a friend of my sister Ellen…then yes, yes I met it. I-I know its kind of old fashioned but…even though I've already asked her, and you know…" He knew they weren't necessarily happy about it either. "I-I want your blessing for me to marry your daughter. I love her more than I've ever loved anyone in the world and I promise I would never hurt her…" He would've said that he would take care of her…but that wasn't the case. Emily wouldn't like that language. They were equal partners and he and Emily would take care of each other.

Bob could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he waited for Junior to reply. The overbearing, but kind man seemed to be thinking and Bob couldn't wait to hear what his verdict was going to be. Meanwhile, Emily's mother was still patting his face with the wet washcloth. Her action completely contrasted her husbands and it confused the hell out of Bob. Junior stared into his face with an almost mean kind of glare. Junior saw genuine pain, fear and love as he studied the younger man's eyes. He weighed what he'd just seen and took Bob's words to be true.

"Welcome to the family!" Junior burst, smiling suddenly. Aggie knew he'd say this and pulled the washcloth away from Bob's face, kissing his cheek softly. Bob was a little confused but smiled up at her.

Bob shot an annoyed glare at the other couples, who had continued watching them as they ate. They took a break from their meals in order to clap when Bob had received Junior's approval to marry Emily.

"Thank you Mr. Harrison. I promise I'll make her very happy."

"No need to thank me Bob. But call me Junior."

"O-okay Junior." He said. "Look, I was supposed to go and see Emily, and I'm late do you think..."

"Alright, but we'll go with you." Junior said joyfully. He'd been in town almost a whole day and had yet to see his baby girl.

"Al-alright but not a word about this to Emily, please. I really did forget all about Gloria until I saw we made a date for tonight: months ago."

"Of course not Bob." Junior understood and knew Bob was telling the truth, in fact, he'd done something similar as a younger man but Aggie didn't need to know that.

Something inside Bob died when his soon to be in-laws escorted him out of the restaurant and began the walk toward Emily's with him. He'd really been looking forward to a nice intimate evening alone with her. But, at least now, his future marriage wasn't in jeopardy and he had a legitimate excuse for being late and a surprise. He knew she'd love to see her parents and that she'd be thrilled about their newfound approval of the marriage. In truth, it was only ever Junior that disapproved, Aggie thought Bob was perfect all along and one day, he and Emily would come to find that out.

"Now Bob." Junior began before they were about to walk up the stairs to Emily's apartment.

"Y-yeah Mr….Junior."

"There's just one more condition."

"W-what's that?" He was surprised when Junior took the duffle bag from him.

"Not until after the wedding, alright?" He asked. Bob was a little stunned and embarrassed by this.

It sickened Junior to even think of this, but he wanted to protect his Emily. He wasn't even sure what the point was. Bob and Emily were together in Chicago, and he was in Seattle, Bob could be living with his daughter for all he knew, but whatever the case was, he wanted to do the fatherly thing and protect her virtue as long as he could.

"A-alright." Bob replied nervously.

When he thought about it he was mortified. He was already very intimidated by Junior and now, within a short hour, he'd: 1. Seen him with another woman, 2. Seen him dump and then get hit by that woman, 3. Had to pretty much beg for forgiveness and ask for his blessing and finally 4. Was caught plotting to have sex with his daughter before he married her….Bob didn't think he'd earned a lot of points with any of these things, especially the last one. But whatever the case, he was just glad that hour of pain was over.


End file.
